


A Tale of Two Trolls

by sunshinestealer



Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Homestuck Valentine's Exchange, homestuckvalentine, homestuckvalentine2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-16 19:02:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13642521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshinestealer/pseuds/sunshinestealer
Summary: Feferi goes on land to visit a dear friend for the first time.





	A Tale of Two Trolls

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tired_lesbian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tired_lesbian/gifts).



Aradia hadn’t really been expecting company today, but what else could you do when one of your friends had an argument with their moirail than to invite them over to tea?

They were currently sat in the small sitting room of Aradia’s hive, teacakes on a plate in front of them and a full samovar prepared.

The smell of a heady, cinnamon-like herb wafted through the house, together with vanilla cream glaze. The tea cakes were wonderfully fluffy and the cookies were dusted with powdered sugar, just as Feferi arrived at her friend’s hive.

“You’re early!” Aradia said, chipper, with Ram-Mom peering over her shoulder. She had her long black hair in a messy bun, with twolong strands coming down around her face. “I mean, not that it’s a problem. Come in, come in.”

Feferi gave a nervous, polite laugh and took stock of her surroundings. She’d always been a lot more comfortable in the depths of the ocean. In all her seven sweeps of life, she had mainly been on land when visiting Eridan.

Aradia’s hive was located in the countryside, on the outskirts of larger sub-grub. Feferi had managed to find a highblood commune with a transport link, finding the experience rather novel. First there was a train into the central city of the Pangaean continent, followed by another train underground, then a tram to a covered bus stop and a shuttle-buggy driven by an olive. Then from the shuttle-buggy station, Feferi had found a group of trolls on social media who were also travelling in her direction — hitching a ride on the back of a hay wagon, drawn by a bronze blood and their enormous, rodent-like Lusus.

It had all been rather -EXCITING, to forget her responsibilities for this one, carefree royal night out.

To break the ice when first arriving, she had recounted her trip to Aradia. She had laughed at Feferi, but thankfully not in a condescending way.

“You know you can take the shuttle buggy straight from the town subway station?”

“I _do_ know now,” Feferi pouted. “It was nice! Nobody treated me any differently.” She had taken off her goggles and was wearing a beach T-shirt and jacket over her swimsuit, with another sarong around her waist in neutral colouring.

As she went to take off the jacket, she heard the buzzing of her phone — along with Eridan’s custom ringtone.

Aradia looked a little concerned. “Did you come all the way out here without letting him know?”

The Heiress sighed, hanging up her coat, leaving the phone to ring inside of the pocket.

“I see.” Aradia waved her hand, eager to get her friend to try some of her baking. She gave another chipper smile, just in case Feferi was worried or upset — but her sea-dweller friend seemed to be neither of those. In fact, she had smiled back brightly, eagerly bringing a tea cake to her mouth. All of her etiquette schoolfeeds had taught her to delicately hold it in one hand, to take small bites and chew plenty of times, to feel fuller quicker and maintain a prim figure, but right now, she needed something sugary to cheer her up, manners be damned.

Feferi eagerly bit into the pastry, amazed at the flavour. Her expression gave it away, with Aradia politely giggling.

“I downloaded the recipe to my pinboard. I could send it to you, if you like?”

She shrugged, not quite caring for baking as much as the Empress did. (Rumour had it that the one time the Condesce had judged _The Great Troll Bake-Off_ on national television, she had ordered the winner to be immediately culled for making a fluffy Genoise sponge and a perfect mirror-glaze ganache and refusing to give up their baking secrets.)

“You’ve got to send me these in a care package!” Feferi said. “If you wouldn’t mind making a batch every now and again.”

Aradia nodded. Feferi had eaten the treats with such gusto that there was powdered sugar all around her mouth — a most undignified look for the Heiress.

“May I?” Aradia leaned over the table, gently swiping a thumb across the worst of the stains once Feferi nodded. The look Aradia gave her was soft and gentle. Not the usual pity vibes, but simply concern for one’s wellbeing.

Throughout the evening, there was an unspoken agreement to not bring up whatever had brought Feferi onto land and that had clearly rattled her a little. Aradia did her best to respect this, trying to match Feferi’s enthusiasm and interest in the local area. They’d also watched a movie together about a group of jade-bloods and their #Squad, which was rocked to its foundations by their newest member — a gold blood from the city who was only infiltrating the schoolhive gang to get blackmail material for her jade friends who had previously been kicked out of the gang. It was somewhat humorous, even quotable at times, but Aradia had seen it almost to the point of tedium.

Once the movie was over and they had resolved to simply relax together, Aradia took out her tablet, video calling Sollux. “TwinArmaggeddons? I think you'll like him,” Aradia mused as the goldblood popped onto the screen, loud shouts coming from the floor above.

“Could you call me back later?” Sollux asked, taking a swig of Red Fairybull and getting up from his computer chair, yelling distantly at Bicyclops. Aradia giggled and cut off the feed, following up with a message to Sollux that she was having a quiet night in with Feferi.

 

 **TA: let me gue22**

**TA: iis CA beeiing an ass??**

**AA: it appears s0, yes.**

**TA: UGH. tell her 2he de2erve2 better.**

**AA: she is reading this 0ver my sh0ulder, actually.**

**TA: my poiint 2tiill 2tand2.**

 

“Aradia, _please_.” Feferi said, an edge of irritation to her voice. “We had an argument, as moirails sometimes do.”

Her friend was quick to disconnect Trollian and take Feferi’s mind off of things. “Hey, what if I braid your hair?” That look was there again, concern without pity. A genuine desire to appease her friend, who had every right to have frayed nerves.

She put the tablet to one side, moving around behind Feferi. For most trolls, this was an enormous display of trust, to allow somebody to be at your back like that — prime stabbing position, and all. Aradia simply parted Feferi’s hair down the middle, taking a brush out of her sylladex.

“How does your friend know Eridan?”

“Not sure, never asked.” Aradia said, hushing tone in her voice. “Right now, it’s only me and you and this… gosh, _enormous_ bundle of hair.”

Feferi giggled a little. “I’ve never cut it.”

“Never!?” Aradia mockingly gasped. Then again, she was one to talk, trimming her hair every now and again when she got split ends, but never actually cutting the length. “It’s so soft and curly…”

“I prefer the term _wavy_ ,” she replied, tipping her head back to meet Aradia’s eyes.

“Of course you do.”

They both broke into giggles then.

Aradia tipped her friend’s head forward and started braiding, knowing that Feferi would certainly appreciate the _fishtail_ braids she was working on.

When they were done, Feferi gasped, constantly fiddling with them in the mirror and giving her friend a hug.

“They’re beautiful.”

“You’re welcome.” Aradia stroked a stray baby hair away from her forehead. Feferi smiled, not showing her sharp teeth — they probably looked rather frightening to those who weren’t sea-dwellers, but still. All the more excuse to show off her favourite shade of fuchsia lipstick.

“You’ll have to show me how to do them,” Feferi said. “They’re so much more manageable!”

Aradia nodded, swapping their positions so that Feferi could play with her hair. Surprisingly, Feferi came around the front, not the back, maintaining eye contact. Her hands held softly onto Aradia’s.

“Thank you for all this. I was so nervous.”

“Nervous enough to navigate public transport all the way out here? We’re 100 miles from the coast, Feferi.”

She pouted, in the cute way she did when things didn’t go her way. Aradia breathed, her heart catching in her throat as she leaned in — and to her surprise, Feferi was leaning in too.

Their lips met each other’s cheeks, then traversed to the lips in a rather awkward fashion — and from there, they lingered.

Feferi breathed as they withdrew, still holding hands. “You feel it too?”

“Of _course_ ,” Aradia said. “You’re beautiful.”

“And so are you,” Feferi replied, pink blush coming to her cheeks. “Thank—”

“Shush,” Aradia said, stroking down Feferi’s face with her free hand. “I’ve already said you’re welcome.”

The sea-dweller’s heart beat a rhythmic tattoo. For once in her life, she was struck by silence. Megido didn’t pity her, the way troll romance _usually_ went. She looked over Aradia’s face, committing it to memory — the freckles bridging across her nose, the dimples she had, her beautiful eyes… This wasn’t pity, it was something else entirely.

Aradia was looking at her that way too.

They kissed again.

The rest of the night was spent on a pile of blankets, although it wouldn’t be long until the sun came up. Aradia chatted about her friendship with Sollux and the local archaeological digs she had partaken in. Feferi just listened, allowing her new best friend to rest against her and look up at the ceiling.

She knew skipping out on her responsibility could have had extremely dangerous consequences. Of course, it had been a miracle that nothing had happened, but her happiness here was to be short-lived. She would have to head back to the ocean at the first opportunity tomorrow, just to calm her lusus’ nerves.

But for now, they just rested against each other, basking in their newfound feelings.


End file.
